The new one from Japanese four-piece CHAI is clever and fun, but not so fun as to be cloying or annoying. WINK, out on Friday via Sub Pop, is full of peppy, rhythmic variations on New Wave and alt-rock forms. Most of what's here is charming, with some of this being quite good indeed.
"Donuts Mind If I Do" is sinuous and infectious, while "Nobody Knows We Are Fun" is funkier still. This one, a neat updating of styles perfected by The Tom Tom Club and Luscious Jackson, is a real highlight here on WINK, as is the lovely "Wish Upon a Star", a number sung in Japanese. "It's Vitamin C", on the other hand, wouldn't have sounded too out of place on Eighties urban radio, and it reveals textures and production effects that make parts of WINK a whole lot of fun to listen to. I wish I could say the same thing about the cuts with guests but those didn't quite work for me. I found the other performers distractions and I kept wishing that I was hearing just CHAI instead. Read into that last statement a big compliment about the cohesion this group has.
WINK is out on Friday via Sub Pop.
More details on CHAI via the band's official website.
[Photo: Kodai Ikemitsu]